You might notice a new button on the sidebar of my blog page. A yellow “Donate” button. Or you might not have noticed it till I pointed it out. Either way, it’s there!
The purpose behind this button is to raise money to neuter/spay rescue felines, most of them taken out of shelters such as King’s County in Fresno before they’re euthanized. Sadly, local shelters have recently changed their policies so they won’t do the low cost spay/neuters for the public for kittens under 4 months old. This creates a huge problem as the rescue shelters won’t take the kittens unless they’re fixed. This means we have to go through private vet hospitals, which charge a helty fee: $100-$200 or more, depending on gender.
For our friend and fellow feline rescuer (think Harriet Tubman, except with kitties) Mo, this means she is currently stuck with five kittens and their mother in her bathroom because the mother cat is so protective, she attacks any other animals she sees (including Mo’s very gentle dog). Her other ‘quarantine’ room is currently occupied with teenagers we’re trying to find homes for.
We work with organized non-profit rescues, but do not belong to them ourselves. We’re looking into getting non-profit status, but it takes a while and given the glut of cats and kittens currently in shelters, with constant distress calls for help from the people running them, we don’t have time to wait. M has spent thousands of dollars of her own money on medical care and spay/neuters for countless felines when the promised help from rescue groups (also overwhelmed) fell through. We can get these kittens to a no-kill adoption center when they’re fixed, but we’re looking at $1,000 minimum to get all five kittens done. The other option is to have them in M’s bathroom for another two and a half months, which reduces the odds of getting them adopted. Most people want, as our friend Aldyth puts it, ‘little bitties.’ We are also, btw, actively looking for good homes with people we know will get the babies fixed and be responsible parents!
In the meantime, we’ve set up a PayPal donation button on my account specifically to fund getting this batch of kittens fixed. If anyone is inclined to give us grief because we are not an official non-profit, please remember it’s people like us (especially M!) that shoulder much of the time, responsibility, and money for rescue animals when the groups are full up or run out of money. We also take on the grief when kittens who come to us ill from their short time in the shelters end up dying, despite our best care.
I’ve attached pictures of the kids and their mom (who is being spayed this Wednesday). The white one is Mugatu. Points to anyone who knows where the name comes from! If you are in the Bay Area and know of anyone looking to adopt or even foster, please send them my way! Or, if you know someone who can spare a few dollars for a good cause and you can vouch for my integrity, it would be greatly appreciated!
